Saki: Twilight of the Dead
by TheNotoriousKAZ
Summary: A remake to my discontinued story "Twilight of the Dead" with improvements and slight changes to the original; This story takes place after the individual tournaments and taking place at the same time as Night of the Living Dead from Romero's Dead series canon. Semi-alternate universe and semi-original characters.
1. Prologue

Dear readers, this is the author formerly known as akane_soir86. I humbly apologize for putting my story "Twilight of the Dead" on a two year hiatus. Truth of the matter is I was busy with real life and never actually found the time to get back to continue the story. To make matters worse, I have forgotten the email and password to my previous account so I had to make this new account to continue my story. This will be a rewrite to the discontinued version, the story will mostly be the same but there will be improvements and slight changes to the story, so I hope you will enjoy this as much as the original. I apologize once again for the hiatus and to my readers who have been waiting for so long for an update and I hope this rewrite will make up for it. Again, sorry for disappointing my fellow readers.

Yours sincerely, TheNotoriousKAZ

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Saki or any of the films from the Dead series; Night (1968), Dawn (1978), Day (1985), Land (2005), Diary (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009). Saki belongs to Ritz Kobayashi and the Dead series belongs to George A. Romero.

**~ PROLOGUE ~**

(Ghost Town)

It was quarter past seven, and the sky was darkening. A second year high school student was riding along a long and quiet stretch of road leading away from Kiyosumi High School. The sixteen-year-old sang along to the Idolmaster soundtrack "Relations", which was playing on his MP3 player, quietly. Streetlights flickered on as he rode past a canal, and into the small, peaceful town he had lived all his life. However, as soon as he reached the town, he noticed that something wasn't right. He turned his head left, then right. A feeling of uneasiness enveloped him when he realized there wasn't a soul in the streets.

_"Funny…"_ He thought, _"Normally, there'll still be people at this time…"_

As he was riding past the shopping district, the student noticed that all the stores were empty as well, mostly with their main entrances still opened. He swallowed hard as he looked around, seeing litter scattered in the streets and cars were parked in a peculiar way. He slowed down his bike as he approached a gray Honda, which had its passenger side door left ajar. As he slowly passed the vehicle, he noticed an arm hanging out. His uneasiness turning into fear, the student broke into cold sweat, his instincts telling him to cycle faster, which he did, having lots of questions going through his head.

_"What the hell is going on here?"_ He thought, _"Where did everybody go?"_

As he rode out from the shopping district, and into the residential area, the student spotted someone walking up ahead in the streets, lit dimly by the lampposts. The silhouette appeared to be that of a man. He was relieved to finally find someone else in town. His instincts told him to be cautious on his approach, but he simply brushed the thought off. The student pressed the brake handles of his bike to slow it down, before pulling to a stop about a good five meters away from the man. After climbing down from the bike, he propped it upright. Pulling his headphones down to his neck, the student jogged after the man.

"HEY!" He called out, no response.

"HEY!" He called out again, still no response.

"HEY!" He called out yet again, and the man stopped.

The sixteen-year-old stopped jogging, two meters away from the man, who slowly turned to face the student. He was wearing a red-and-black polo shirt, black slacks, white track shoes and had a white apron and matching hat on. The student was quick to recognize it as uniform worn by employees working for the sushi parlor in the shopping district. Then, the student noticed something wasn't right. His eyes widened to shock, and then horror, realizing the man had a bloody stump where his left arm should be.

"My God!" He gasped, "What happened to your arm?"

Strips of flesh and strings of arteries hung loosely from the bloody stump, quivering queasily at every movement the man made. His bone jutted out from the stump. Blood trickled from the wound, down to the bone, and finally dripped from the sharp, broken tip leaving a small puddle of thick, crimson liquid on the road. The student looked up at the man's face. He had an agonized expression, eyes rolled backwards till only his whites could be seen and his mouth was gaping widely. The man let out a really weak moan.

"Sir? What happened to your arm?" The student demanded, "I'll call for help…"

The student pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and dialed for an ambulance. Then, without him noticing, the man started shuffling towards the student slowly, his right arm reaching out, his fingers gnarled into claws. An almost mournful moan escaped his gaping maw as he shuffled closer towards the student. The line couldn't get though. Frustrated, and trying hard to keep himself from panicking, he dialed again. The line still couldn't get through.

"Damn…" The student cursed under his breath. Still trying hard to hold his composure, the student decided to come up with another option, "Sir! There's a clinic at the shopping district! Maybe we'll find help there! Here, let me take you-"

Before the student could finish his sentence, the man lunged at him suddenly, grabbing hold of the student's shoulder in a vice-like grip, growling like a wild animal and the pained expression he had on his face before was replaced by rage.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?" The student was startled, completely caught off guard and was shocked by the uncanny strength the man seemed to possess. With a growl, the man opened his mouth wide and prepared to sink his teeth into the student's throat.

"GET BACK!" The student yelled as he shoved his hands against the man's chest. The man was sent stumbling backwards, but he lunged forward again. The student swung his right fist across the man's jaw, who then reeled backwards and fell to the ground.

_"Shit… why the hell is he attacking me?"_ The student thought, gritting his teeth as the man, or Ghoul, slowly got back up to its feet and shuffled towards him again. The student charged forward and landed a flying kick into the creature's chest.

"Sir… what the hell has gotten into you?" The student yelled at the creature, which had fallen to the ground again. The creature slowly got back to its feet again, shuffled forward a few steps and lunged at the student yet again. "Don't make me do this!"

The student side stepped and using the creature's momentum against it, he shoved his hands against the creature's back. The Ghoul was sent hurtling forward, landing face first on the ground and got back to its feet again. _"Damn, he's unrelenting!"_

He looked around and spied on a lead pipe on the ground, a short distance away from him. The student rushed over to the pipe and bent over to pick it up. As he grabbed the pipe, the creature lunged at the student and grabbed the student's shoulder.

The student swiftly decked the creature across the face, knocking it backwards. Clutching the pipe tightly, the student changed towards the stunned creature and swung the heavy pipe using his full strength, knocking the creature's head off its shoulders.

As the creature's lifeless body collapsed onto the ground, the head rolled to a stop a few meters away. However, its eyes were still moving in their sockets and the mouth was still trying to bite. A crimson puddle was formed under the still-moving head.

_"No… No… No! This isn't happening! Its head's off its body, dammit!"_ The student thought, beads of sweat tricked down his forehead and a chill ran down his spine as he backed away from the motionless body, eyes fixed on the severed head.

As the student focused his eyes on the creature's head, he heard the sounds of slow, shuffling footsteps coming from behind him. He turned to the direction where the footsteps came from and saw eight to ten silhouettes shuffling in streets seemingly drawn by the noises made he made during his scuffle with the one-armed Ghoul which attacked him earlier. The creatures slowly advanced towards the student, their vacant eyes staring blankly ahead. Frightened, the student backed away from the moaning mob. A distinct moan caught his attention and turning to look behind, another small group of creatures were advancing towards him. He realized that he was completely surrounded.

_"What IS happening?"_ The student thought as he looked at the creatures surrounding him. Turning his head to the right side of the street, he saw a small stairway leading down to another stretch of road. Not taking any chances, the student ran towards the stairway, only to find a lone Ghoul, a student in high school uniform, walking up the stairs unsteadily, its vacant eyes staring blankly at the student who then proceeded to deliver a kick into its chest. The creature let groaned loudly as it toppled over and rolled down the stairs. The student ran down the stairs and into the streets below, and ignoring the creature getting back up, he turned right and saw six to eight creatures in the distance.

_"I gotta get back my house…"_ The student thought, worried about his family's safety. He turned left and saw the streets up ahead were clear, so he ran as fast as he could, making twists and turns, until he was able to find his residence. The student bent over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath for a minute. He looked around to see if there were any creatures around, none were in sight. He looked up at the house and saw that it was mostly dark. As he pushed the front gate and walked towards the front door, he could feel his heart beating in his chest. The moment he was right in front of the door, he pressed the doorbell, no response. He pressed the doorbell again, still no response. "Hello?"

The student turned the doorknob and realized that the door wasn't locked. He slowly pushed the door as he entered cautiously, its creaking hinges breaking the silence that surrounded him. He switched on the living room lights and gasped when he saw his house in a mess, as though someone had broken in and ransacked it. He walked through the living room and noticed that the television was still on, but was static. He walked over to the television and turned it off.

"Hello?" The student called out, "Mom…? Big bro…?"

The student walked across the living room, towards the stairway leading to the rooms on the second floor. Climbing the stairs, the student cautiously made his way to the upper level of his house. As he reached the second floor, the student switched on the lights, only to notice a crimson trail of bloodstains on the floor. His eyes followed the long trail of blood slowly and to his horror, it leads to the closed door of his mother's room. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

_"My God..."_ The student gasped, _"No… please, no!"_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** The events of this story takes place at the same time as Night of the Living Dead. Also, take note that the films in Romero's Dead series canon DID NOT take place in any specific year. As the sets and costume make clear, each film is set in the time that it was made - and yet not. The events of Dawn of the Dead (1978) happen weeks after those of Night of the Living Dead, which was released a decade before. The events of Day of the Dead (1985) occur only months after the second film. Only three years separate the events of the first film and the fourth, Land of the Dead (2005). Diary of the Dead (2007), the fifth film, takes place at the same time as Night of the Living Dead.

- In Romero's series, albeit few theories, the cause of the epidemic was never explained.

- In addition, anyone who dies, unless by damage to the brain, will become a "zombie".


	2. Chapter 1

**~ CHAPTER 1 ~**

(Sound of Death)**  
**

**Mako's Maid Café, Friday, 8:25PM**

"That was a fun game," The pot-bellied, middle-aged man stood up stretching. "You girls are really good!"

Saki and Nodoka exchanged looks and giggled softly. The middle-aged man was impressed by their Mahjong playing skills. It was Friday night and the both of them had agreed to help Mako out in her maid café, once again wearing those embarrassing maid costumes their senior had provided them; blue and white for Saki, pink and white for Nodoka. The last time they were asked to help out in the maid café, they got badly beaten down by Yasuko Fujita, a well-known professional Mahjong player. But it all turned out to be a well-thought-out plan by their intelligent and confident club president, Hisa, to let them both experience defeat and giving them the motivation to improve on their skills. They have gotten a lot better since then, becoming the strongest players for their team.

After going for a training camp, they went on to the national qualifying tournament representing Kiyosumi High School, putting them on the map, and winning it. They eventually won the individuals and earned their place in the nationals, which will be starting the following week. The both of them were excited, but at the same time, nervous. They remembered the promise they made before the qualifying tournament that not only would they get into the nationals but they would win it as well. From that day onwards, a strong bond was formed between the both of them, becoming best of friends. So much so, they started calling one another by their given names during their second training camp where three other schools, Ryuumonbunchi, Kazekoshi and Tsuruga were invited as well.

"We have to go now," His balding friend smiled. "Hope to play against the both of you again someday."

"We'll be glad to." Saki and Nodoka said in unison, and bowed to the two middle-aged men respectfully.

They sniggered at each other upon seeing Nodoka's large, rounded bosoms bouncing slightly as she bowed. She knew what was going on and blushed without saying a word. The two men paid for their meals and left the café. A car was heard starting up and driving off. Mako looked around the café. There were only a handful of customers left. She walked up to Saki and Nodoka, who had already left the Mahjong table. They noticed their senior looking worried while she looked at the customers in the café.

"Mako-senpai, is anything wrong?" Saki asked her senior, feeling concerned for her. Mako looked at Saki for a few seconds, pushed up her thick glasses and smiled.

"No. It's nothing really," Mako replied, "It's just that I find it strange that we don't have a lot of customers today. It's Friday, where we'll usually have more customers."

Saki looked around and saw that her senior was right. There were indeed very few customers. Mako had made a good point when she mentioned that there should have been more customers on Friday since the weekends would start the following day. In fact, she noticed that customers have stopped coming in at around 8:00PM. "Strange…" She thought deeply, _"Hmm, could it be the new mall they built in town? Come to think of it, people have been going there more often since the day it was opened to the public."_

But still, that did not explain why customers had stopped coming in after 8:00PM, _"Is there some kind of festival being held in town?"_ She though, _"It's not likely since the summer festival was just few days ago."_

Saki shook her head to brush the thought off and continued helping out in the café. After all, she had better things to be thinking about – the national tournament, which will begin on Monday. It was, perhaps, her only chance to reunite with her sister, Teru Miyanaga. Even after learning that her sister had denied her existence, Saki was still determined to not only reunite with her sister, but to play against her as well. It was all she ever dreamed of every time she fell asleep. She looked at her best friend Nodoka cleaning up the table of customers who had just left. She then turned to look at Mako who was behind the counter.

_"Hehehehe! We're all in this together!"_ She thought, closing her eyes and smiling cheerfully to herself.

**8:50PM**

It was nearing 9PM and it was time for the girls to call it a day. All the customers had left and the girls helped each other clean up the café. The kitchen staff left as soon as finished their duties, after which Mako made sure that all dishware and cutlery were there and various ingredients for food were put back in their right places. Upon changing back to their school uniforms, the lights were turned off and the front door was locked. As the girls were ready to leave the café, Saki noticed something moving in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a silhouette of a man lurching in the distance, stumbling around clumsily.

"Mako-senpai," Saki said, feeling uneasy as soon as she saw the figure, "What's wrong with that man?"

"Huh? What man?" Mako said, looking at the figure Saki was pointing to, "He's most probably drunk..."

As Nodoka and Mako walked on, Saki stood her ground for a few seconds still looking at the man, who seemed to be stumbling around aimlessly in the dark street, moaning quietly from the distance. She shook her head and followed after her friends. The girls walked down the quiet road, on their way to the Mahjong club, which was located quite a distance away, but not too far, from the café. Saki remembered that Hisa wanted them to report to the club as soon as the café closes, since she needed to discuss something important regarding the national tournament to all club members, including Kyoutarou, who was not competing for them, but was rather used as an errand boy for the team. As they walked on, Saki kept feeling uneasy, the same feeling she had since she saw the shambling figure upon leaving the café, added with the thought about the café not getting as much customers as it usually did on any other Fridays and it was too quiet. The only sounds heard were the rustling of leaves and the croaking of frogs.

_"No… s-something just isn't going right here…"_ Saki thought to herself.

"Saki-san, are you excited?" Nodoka asked, interrupting Saki's thoughts.

"E-eh…? Y-yes, Nodoka-chan…" Saki replied and smiled very weakly.

Nodoka smiled back at Saki and held her hand gently. Saki blushed. It always made her warm and fuzzy inside when Nodoka held her hand. That was more than enough to get the haunting thoughts off from her mind. When the girls were about ten meters away from the stairway leading up to the old school building where their penthouse turned club house was, Mako stopped in her tracks, and so did Saki and Nodoka.

"Mako-senpai, what is it?" Saki asked.

"Look." Mako said, pointing up ahead.

Ahead of the road they were walking on, which was below the stairway leading up to the old building, was another stairway leading down to the small town. They saw a figure of a man under the dim street lights, who appeared to be slouching and breathing heavily. He was clutching something long in his right hand and seemed to be looking into their direction. Saki and Nodoka were frightened by the sudden appearance of the stranger, but Mako thought he looked familiar. Suddenly, the figure ran towards them.

"HEY!" The stranger called out. Saki and Nodoka screamed and ran, but not Mako, who knew that voice.

"HEY! Someya-san!" The stranger called out again, waving at her as he came running, "It's me, Yuuichi!"

"Eh? Yuuichi-kun?" Mako called back. The stranger slowed down and stopped in front of Mako, panting.

"My God…" He said in between breaths, 'Am I glad to see you, Someya-san…"

Saki and Nodoka stopped running and looked back. The stranger was a male student from the same school as they were. He had unkempt, strawberry blonde hair, wears glasses and had black and orange headphones around his neck. He appeared to be the same age as Mako and stood 175cm tall, much taller than the girls. He had a slim, slender built and the long object he was holding on to was a lead pipe.

"Eh? You know him, Mako-senpai?" Saki asked, walking back to where Mako was.

"Yep, he's my classmate." Mako replied, turning to look at both Saki and Nodoka.

"Ah… oh… it's only her friend…" Nodoka sighed in relief and followed after Saki.

"My goodness, what happened to you?" Mako asked, turning back to her friend.

"And… w-why is he carrying that… thing?" Saki asked, pointing to the lead pipe.

"Wait a minute!" Mako snapped, "Don't tell me you got into a fight now, did you?!"

"We gotta get outta here now!" Yuuichi told the girls. He kept looking back at the stairway which he came from, looking very panicked, which got the girls really curious on what was happening, "They're coming!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mako asked Yuuichi, "Who's coming?"

"We gotta find a place to hide now!" Yuuichi demanded, "It's not safe here!"

"I still don't know what you're talking ab-" Just then, the sounds of agonized moans were heard. It sounded really awful; like tormented souls being forced to sing a choir while in pain. Saki and Nodoka held on tightly to one another, taking small steps back, eyes glued to the stairway Yuuichi had came from.

"Alright, can someone please tell me just what the hell is going on?" Mako asked.

"I would like to know myself!" Yuuichi replied, "But we gotta find a place to hide!"

"We can hide at the Mahjong club!" Mako suggested, pointing to the club house on the old building above the stairway. Yuuichi noticed that the lights were on, indicating that there were people inside the building.

"Are you serious?!" Yuuichi asked.

"Yep, dead serious!" Mako replied.

"Aw, alright then!" Yuuichi agreed.

"Uh… guys, look…" Saki said, still holding on to Nodoka, pointing to the stairway leading into town. Mako and Yuuichi turned and saw a tall figure shambling up the stairs unsteadily. Saki remembered the man she saw earlier when leaving the café moving the exact same way as the one she's seeing now and the uneasiness she felt earlier came back once again. Behind the figure were two… four… six… eight… ten more creatures, slowly climbing up the stairs, moaning. There were about a dozen of them, shuffling towards Yuuichi and the girls, some with their arms outstretched, some with their arms dangling down.

"Shit!" Yuuichi cursed, "They're here! The stairs! Go!"

The three girls, followed by Yuuichi, quickly ran for the stairway, running past the slow-moving creatures reaching out with their hands in an attempt to grab any one of them. As the creature nearest to him lunged at him, Yuuichi rammed the creature in the sternum with the tip of his pipe, knocking it backwards. He then took another swing at the side of its head. With an angry snarl, the Ghoul fell onto the ground and slowly got back to its feet. As they continued to running up the flight of stairs and into the dilapidated building, the moaning trailed off behind them. They did not stop running until they reached the top floor.

"Here we are!" Mako said as they stopped in front of a large, double-sided door. Mako pushed the door opened and they quickly went into the club house. Hisa and Yuuki were sitting at the Mahjong table talking, while Kyoutarou was on the computer. As much as she was glad to see the girls, she was surprised to see Yuuichi with them too. Hisa knew him as one of Mako's classmates and they have met a few times before, but to see him dropping by the club house was something she never actually expected.

"Hai, Yuuichi-kun!" Hisa said cheerfully. She stood up and stretched, "What brings you to the club house?"

However, Yuuichi ignored her question and hurriedly closed the doors, locked them and bolted the top and bottom, then barred the door handles with his lead pipe. Hisa raised an eyebrow and turned to Mako.

"Umm… what's with him?" She asked, and noticed that Mako was panting and catching her breath.

"And… what's with you?" She asked, and turned to Saki and Nodoka, catching their breaths as well.

"Alright… by any chance did something happen while you guys are on the way here?" Hisa asked.

"I dunno if you're gonna believe us," Mako replied, "But we were chased by a bunch of crazed people!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I've decided to file this under the crossover section since this story IS a crossover. I crossed it over with Dawn of the Dead because it takes place in Romero's canon. And yes, Yuuichi was the student you were introduced to in the prologue. Yuuichi's appearance and personality was heavily based off Yosuke Hanamura from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. In fact, the small town is heavily based off Inaba, and thus making the setting of this story a semi-AU. Again, feel free to share your opinions on how I can improve on my story. Also, the genre of this story will be horror/friendship since this story will focus a lot on friendship, survival and teamwork. Also, as you can see the story is set on a Friday, the day the epidemic started according to the first film, Night of the Living Dead, as it was mentioned that the epidemic started two days prior to the events of the movie which takes place on Sunday. Read & Review!


	3. Chapter 2

**~ CHAPTER 2 ~**

(The Mahjong Club - Part I)

**Kiyosumi Mahjong Club, Friday, 9:25PM**

"What crazed people?" Hisa asked, raising an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"Honestly, I don't know…" Mako replied, "But they were moaning and walking like this."

Mako stretched her arms forward and begin mimicking the movements of the creatures she saw earlier, stumbling around and moaning, much to Hisa's amusement, a huge grin spread across her face. She started laughing loudly at her junior. Kyoutarou and Yuuki laughed at her as well. Mako blushed, realizing she had made a fool of herself. Saki, Nodoka and Yuuichi on the other hand, were not laughing.

"Hmm…" Kyoutarou thought, "Maybe all you guys saw were just a bunch of drunks?"

"Right… ten to twelve drunks in packs? Trying to attack us?" Mako said sarcastically.

"Maybe they're just a bunch of perverted drunks?" Hisa winked an eye, grinning widely, "After all, you're high school girls in cute uniforms. You should really be careful walking late night… especially on Fridays."

Hearing what Hisa said, Kyoutaro started having a daydream about Nodoka, lying down on the ground with a really suggestive pose, her school uniform torn apart saying; "Kyou-chan, you bad, bad boy..."

"Hey, look!" Mako snapped at her senior, "I'm not joking, okay? Those people could've killed us!"

"That sounds scary…" Yuuki said, then turned to Kyoutarou, "Kyou-chan will protect me, right?!"

"Eh?! Protect you?! From what?!" Kyoutarou asked, snapping back to reality from daydreaming.

"From those drunks, of course!" Yuuki replied, "You'll protect me if they try touching me, right?!"

Saki sighed. Nodoka shook her head. Yuuichi, in frustration, face palmed. Everyone in the club house were practically bickering about the matter at hand, and eventually going off topic. Hisa was being way too carefree, making jokes and not taking things seriously, while Kyoutarou and Yuuki were having their everyday squabble as usual - Kyoutarou repeatedly poking Yuuki, the latter then punching him for doing so.

"ALRIGHT, SHUT UP!" Yuuichi snapped, finally having enough, "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone in the club house went silent and turned to face Yuuichi, who was breathing heavily, his eyes burning with anger behind his glasses and hands clenched tightly into fists. He walked to where Hisa was.

"Takei-san, don't you realize how fucking serious this is?!" Yuuichi said angrily, pointing at Hisa.

"So why don't you enlighten us what happened?" Hisa stared at Yuuichi, smug look on her face.

"She's right, Yuuichi-kun," Mako told Yuuichi, "Besides, you're the one who really knows what's going on."

"Very well…" Yuuichi sighed deeply, "If you must know." He walked up to the Mahjong table and pulled one of the chairs back, He sat down, placed his arms on the table. He took off his glasses, buried his face in his hands for a few seconds before looking up again. He looked at Hisa, who was standing to his front.

"Look…" Yuuichi sighed, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, okay…"

"Nah! It's okay!" Hisa smiled, "Now tell us what happened…"

"Well, I was heading back home after a band practice with my friends…" Yuuichi began, everyone in the club house listening intently, "It seemed like any other normal day, until I noticed that there was not a single person in town. There was no one in the streets. All the stores were empty but the doors were wide open. As I continue riding into town, I finally saw someone walking up ahead. I was actually glad to see someone else so I called out to him. He was someone I knew, working for a sushi restaurant in town. I've met him few times before but we never talked much. But then…" Yuuichi paused and took a deep breath.

"Go on…" Hisa said. She was getting interested in Yuuichi's story.

"But then…" Yuuichi continued, "I realized he was missing an arm."

Hisa and Mako exchanged looks, both having the look of disbelief in the faces. Saki and Nodoka kept quiet as they stood behind Kyoutarou, who had gotten up from the chair at the computer station and sat on an unoccupied chair at the Mahjong table to Yuuichi's left. Yuuki, sitting on Yuuichi's right, sat quietly.

"I thought something terrible happened to him. Like an accident or something. He was losing so much blood. I decided to call for an ambulance but the line couldn't get through. I tried calling again. The line still couldn't get through. I told him I would take him to the clinic… but then… but then…" Yuuichi stalled.

"But then what? Hisa asked, urging Yuuichi to continue his story.

"He… attacked me…" Yuuichi continued, "He tried to bite me… I pushed him away and tried reasoning with him but he was unrelenting… he still kept coming for me, still wanting to bite me, growling and grimacing, like a primitive beast… I had no choice. I had to use force… I punched him in the face, I kicked him in the chest… it didn't seem to have any effect on him at all. He kept getting back up. I finally managed to knock him to the ground long enough, it bought me some time and I found that pipe," Yuuichi pointed his thumb back at the pipe which he had used to bar the door, "He got back up and attacked again but I knocked his head right off his shoulders with one swing. THWACK! His head went flying and landed a short distance away from his body… but then… but then… h-his head… i-it was still moving…"

"So…" Hisa cut in, "You're saying his head was still moving even after it got knocked off his shoulders?"

Yuuichi nodded without saying a word. Kyoutarou leaned back on his chair, not knowing whether or not to believe the story. Yuuki on the other hand was frightened and so were Saki and Nodoka. Everyone in the club house found his story really hard to believe, but at the same time, he did not look like he was lying.

"Impossible!" Mako said, "You know his head shouldn't be moving once it got detached from his body!"

"I… I know that…" Yuuichi said and continued his story, "I was scared shitless when I saw the head moving. It was moving its jaws… still trying to bite… I backed away and saw more of those things coming for me… moaning… lurching… just like the man who attacked me. There were too many of them, about ten to fifteen of them. I was completely surrounded by those things. I found a stairway and used it to escape, only to find another one those things, a high school student, walking up the stairs. I kicked him down the stairs before he could attack me. I ran down to the streets below and there were six or eight of them down there as well. I thought about my family… I had to make sure they were safe… I ran as fast as I could back to my house… when I reached home, it was dark inside. I thought no one was home at first,"

"But," Yuuki protested, "That sounds like something that could only happen in video games and movies!"

"But then I found that the front door wasn't locked… so I carefully went in and the house was in a MESS! There were stuff everywhere and the TV was still on… I called out for my mom and big brother, but no one answered… so I went upstairs and saw… and saw a trail of blood leading to my mother's room."

Everyone in the club house gasped. Yuuichi paused. His fists clenched tightly, tears forming in his eyes.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…" Hisa said reassuringly, sitting down in front of him.

"No… no…" Yuuichi said, and wiped the tears of his eyes, "It's okay… really…"

"Well, we're listening…" Hisa said in a comforting tone, as the others listened.

"I knew something terrible happened… I quickly ran into my mom's room… and… and… I saw…" Yuuichi took a deep breath, "I saw big brother… he had turned into one of them… and he was fucking eating mom! She was on the floor… DEAD! She was in a pool of her own blood! He… he… he was eating out her insides! I didn't know what to do! I was angry, frightened, scared at the same time… I could only scream in anguish and disbelief! Big brother… or what used to be him… heard me and went after me… I did what I had to do… and smashed him in the head with my pipe… his skull cracked open then he went slack… dropped to the floor… and stayed there. I ran out of my house… and ran… and ran… and ran… I didn't stop running until I eventually got out of town area and met up with Someya-san and her friends…"

"I'm sorry, Yuuich-kun…" Mako said sympathetically, "I'm sorry about your mom… and your big brother…"

Mako placed her right hand on Yuuichi's left shoulder to comfort him. Yuuichi turned, held tightly onto his classmate and started crying uncontrollably. Mako wrapped her arms around Yuuichi, holding his head close to her chest. Hisa could only stare at Yuuchi, totally lost for words. Kyoutarou was taken aback, mouth dropped open. Yuuki looked down on the Mahjong table, fists clenched tightly on her thighs, not knowing what to say. Nodoka just stared at Yuuichi, hugging her Etopen plush tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks. Saki covered her mouth with her hands as tears formed in her eyes, letting out muffled sobs.

"He's been through a lot…" Mako sighed, then turned to Hisa, "Look, I know it may be really hard for you to believe, but he wouldn't lie about it…"

"But… what exactly IS happening out there?" Hisa said, feeling concerned for Yuuichi, "It just seems to me like it all happened too suddenly…"

Hisa stood up and quickly ran over to the other side of the club house. She opened the double-sided door leading to the balcony, jumped over the railing and down to the roof where a beach chair, complete with a beach umbrella, was resting. The others in the club, except for Mako and Yuuichi, quickly followed her. Hisa stopped when she was a meter way from the edge of the roof to get a clearer view of the town. Most of the street lights were on but only few houses had their lights on. With the help of street lights, Hisa could see several silhouettes moving up and down the streets, at least two to three dozen of them. They were all shambling around aimlessly, very much the same way Mako had demonstrated earlier.

Faint yet clear moaning sounds were heard coming from the figures, sending chills through her body. She spied on a telephone pole titled over by a car, which had most likely crashed into it earlier that day. She looked down at the road in front of the old school building they were on and saw about a dozen more figures shambling, and another dozen on the pathway that leads from the town and right to the to the stairs that would lead up to the road in front of the building. Hisa looked back at the town and saw six to eight figures clawing at the front door of one of the houses which had their lights on. Congested screaming could be heard coming from inside the house. Hisa felt her mind reeling at the sheer horror she was witnessing.

"My God…" Saki said, taking few steps back, "This is madness!"

"What are those things?!" Kyoutarou asked, "They're everywhere!"

"It's like a scene from a horror movie!" Yuuki whimpered, "Scary…"

"Hey, Mako!" Hisa called out to Mako, who was in the club house.

"Yes, President?" Mako, still comforting Yuuichi, called out to Hisa.

"You might wanna take a look at this!" Hisa looked back down.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Mako told Yuuichi, who nodded weakly as Mako releases him from her embrace. She ran to the balcony and jumped over the railing, quickly headed to where Hisa and the others were. She looked at the town and gasped. Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing how bad the situation was.

"Just… w-what the hell is going on here?" Hisa asked quietly.

"Is it possible that a pandemic caused this?" Mako suggested.

"Pandemic? What are you talking about, Mako?" Hisa asked.

"What kind of pandemic could cause this…?" Kyoutarou asked.

"These kinda things should not be happening!" Yuuki protested.

"I remember reading a novel…" Mako said, "Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend'. What's happening right now is similar to what's happening in the book. Yuuichi-kun mentioned something about one of those things trying to bite him, his brother 'turning into one of them' and 'killing his mother'. Well, the novel tells of a pandemic which infects people and turns them into vampires. So, I can only conclude that it's most likely some kind of plague that turned all these people into 'vampires' and attack non-infected people…"

"I read that novel too," Saki added, "Now that you mention it, Mako-senpai, it does sound kinda similar…"

"Wow, now you're talking science fiction," Hisa said, rubbing her temple, "Sounds way too far-fetched…"

"Then what else do you think caused this?!" Mako snapped at Hisa, "Any suggestions?! A chemical spill?! A radiation?! Those theories seem 'Sci-Fi' too! People don't just go around attacking and killing each other!"

"Everyone, calm down…" Nodoka stepped forward, "Please don't argue… I'm sure there has to be some kind of explanation to all of this happening. If we could just listen to the news, they'll probably know ab-"

"Can we please go back into the club house?" Yuuki pleaded, "If we keep arguing, they might hear us and know where we are!" Yuuki looked like she was about to cry, frightened by what was happening in town, which was crawling with perhaps hundreds of those creatures, with apparently very few normal people left. There were no signs of any vehicles moving. Everyone else was equally afraid and just as confused. Hisa sighed and walked over to Yuuki. The younger girl hugged her, and Hisa gently patted Yuuki's head.

"Yuuki's right…" Hisa said, "There's no point arguing over whatever is going on out there. Let's go inside."

As they went back into the club house, Hisa closed the double-sided door to the balcony as soon as everyone was inside. Yuuichi was still seated where he was before. He had stopped crying but was looking down at the table. Mako approached him, placing her hand on his back. Yuuichi weakly smiled back at her. Mako pulled herself from Yuuichi and walked over to Hisa, wiping her glasses with her handkerchief.

"So, what do we do now?" Mako asked, "They're bound to find out we're here sooner or later, you know."

"Yep, but we can't leave anytime soon… it's too dangerous… those things are everywhere." Hisa replied.

_THUMP… THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…_

Upon hearing the loud thumping noises, everyone in the club house turned to face the front door. The sounds of fingernails scrapping against wood were heard, followed mournful, spine-tingling moaning. They backed away from the double-sided door to the wall on the far end of the club. From the sounds of it, there were at least five creatures outside, beating on the door, which begin shaking slightly as the creatures continued their assault.

Yuuichi had bolted and locked the doors, and also barred the door handles with his lead pipe earlier when he arrived at the club house. Yuuki scampered behind Hisa, clinging tightly to the older girl as she started whimpering. Saki and Nodoka huddled close together behind Kyoutarou, the latter firmly holding on to Etopen. Yuuichi and Mako stood next to one another, staring at the door as it was being attack from the outside by the Ghouls.

"Damn, they're here!" Yuuichi said, getting panicked. "Is there another way outta here? If they break into the club house, we're dead!"

"No, that door is our only way out!" Hisa said, trying not to panic, "Unless you wanna break a limb or two jumping down four stories!"

_THUMP… THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So, how will our heroes cope with the threat of the zombies trying to break into the Mahjong club? Find out in the next chapter! The part where Mako mentioned Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend" is reference to George A. Romero stating in an interview that the movie "The Last Man On Earth" (1964), the first film adaptation of "I Am Legend" starring Vincent Price, was his inspiration for Night of the Living Dead. Please, feel free to share your honest opinions on my story and how I can improve! Read & review!


	4. Chapter 3

**~ CHAPTER 3 ~**

(The Mahjong Club - Part II)

Everyone remained silent and stood still as the creatures kept beating and clawing on the front door. Hisa turned her head to the left and spotted several planks of wood stacked up in the corner, along with a large toolbox. She remembered that their school had hired contractors to repair the floorboards of the club house. A single lock of hair stood in attention as a smile spread across her face. An idea popped into her head and her leadership instincts kicked in.

"Guys, listen up!" Hisa said firmly, pointing to the planks and toolbox, "We're gonna use those to barricade the doors so those things won't get in!"

"But what if they manage to break in even before we barricade the doors?" Yuuichi said, "Believe me, Takei-san, they're stronger than they look!"

"Yuuichi-kun, do you wanna live or do you wanna die?" Hisa asked.

"I wanna live, bu-"

"Then we better start barricading ourselves in here, now!" Hisa said.

The others exchanged looks and started whispering amongst themselves. Hisa folded her arms, tapping the wooded floor with her right foot, keeping her cool, waiting for anyone who would be willing to volunteer to help her board up the front door. The marauding creatures outside continued clawing on the door, their moaning getting louder, aroused by the noises made by the people inside. Hisa closed her eyes, took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"Look!" Hisa said, raising her voice, "I know you're afraid! I'm afraid too! But if you wanna live then we have to cooperate and work together!"

"Alright guys, you heard the President of the Student Council…" Mako said, pushing up her glasses, "Let's do it!"

"Don't you mean the President of the Student Congress Council, Mako?" Hisa said, waving her index finger at Mako.

"Aren't you picky?" Mako said, rubbing the back of her head giggling. Yuuichi and Kyoutarou quickly went over to the left corner of the club house, picked up several planks and carried them over to the door then dropped them to the floor. Mako carried the toolbox over to Yuuichi and Kyoutarou then placed it on the floor, opened it and looked inside. Among various tools inside there were two hammers and several nails. Mako picked up a wooden plank, slightly longer then the width of the front door, and pressed it hard against the door horizontally. She felt the door moving as the creatures continued pushing against it.

"Yuuichi-kun, Suga-kun, find the longest nails you can and start hammering the plank firmly against the door." Hisa instructed.

Saki passed a hammer to Yuuichi and another to Kyoutarou. Hisa picked up several nails from the toolbox and handed them to the boys, who started hammering them through the sturdy plank Mako was pushing above the door handles. After the boys were done, Hisa pulled at the plank. The long nails had literally glued the plank onto the wall. Mako picked up another plank then pressed it hard against the door, this time below the door handles. Yuuichi begin hammering on the left side of the door and Kyoutarou did the same for the right. Nodoka watched as they boarded up the door, the lower half her face hidden behind her Etopen plush. Yuuki peered over Nodoka's shoulder, still feeling frightened. The door was still budging slightly as the Ghouls continued their attempt to break into the club house.

"Shit… I don't think this is enough to hold them back!" Yuuichi told Hisa.

"Then we'll board the top corners of the door as well." Hisa suggested.

"Like this?" Yuuichi said, placing a shorter plank in a 75-degree angle at the top-left corner of the door.

"Yes." Hisa nooded affirmatively, then turned to Kyoutarou, "Same goes for that corner too, Suga-kun."

Saki stepped back as the boys continued barricading the door. The creatures outside were moaning even louder, aroused by the noises stirred up by the activity going on inside. Saki continued stepping back, eventually turning and walked over to where Nodoka and Yuuki were. The smaller girl, who was hiding behind Nodoka, never spoke a single word since the creatures got to the front door of the Mahjong club. Saki gently placed a hand on Yuuki's head to comfort her.

"Alright… done!" Yuuichi said, stepping back from the door.

"Are you sure this is enough, Prez?" Kyoutarou said to Hisa.

"Hmm…" Hisa thought for awhile, "I think we can use this…"

She walked to the bookshelf, turned and winked, "It's heavy."

"A bookshelf?" Yuuichi smiled, "Nice thinking, Takei-san!"

"Ah, that's not a bad idea at all, Prez!" Kyoutarou added.

"Alright, give me a hand already!" Hisa told the both of them.

Yuuichi and Kyoutarou rushed over to where Hisa was and helped her carry the bookshelf over to the door. After placing it on the floor, they pushed it against the door. Hisa looked around the club house and spied on the bed they had there. She smiled to herself again as another idea popped into her head. Hisa had always been popular among the students of Kiyosumi High School for her intelligence and confidence, something that she was proud of, and being able to read people's strengths and weaknesses, be it inside or outside of Mahjong.

"We can use the bed to weigh down the door even more." Hisa suggested.

"I believe that should be more than enough to hold them back." Mako said.

"Not a hundred percent, though." Hisa said, "But we'll have to give it a try."

"Yuuichi-kun! Kyou-chan!" Mako called out, "Give us a hand with the bed now!"

Hisa and Mako quickly went over to the bed to the bed, with Yuuichi and Kyoutarou following. Each of them held on to one corner of the bed and with combined effort, they lifted it and carried it over to the front door. After placing it on the floor, they pushed it against the bookshelf. The creatures continued pushing against to door. Everyone backed away as the sounds of fingernails scrapping and hands beating against wood continued. Hisa turned and gestured to the others to remain quiet, which they did, eyes still glued to the front door.

Within several minutes, the noises made by the creatures outside ceased. The beating, clawing and moaning had stopped. Hisa walked cautiously to the right side of the door and placed her ears close to it. She could make out the sounds of the Ghouls dispersing, their shuffled footsteps going down the stairs. They had given up trying to break it. Hisa turned around, leaning back against the wall next to the door and breathed out a sigh of relief. The plan worked out they way she wanted, much to her delight. Hisa walked back to where the others were and stopped a short distance away from them. She brought up a thumb and winked and eye.

"They're gone!" Hisa said with a smile.

"Thank God!" Mako sighed with relief.

"I gotta admit, Takei-san," Yuuichi said, "You're really quick at coming up with ideas!"

"What do you expect?" Kyoutarou said, "She's the President of the Student Council!"

"That's the President of the Student Congress Council, Suga-kun." Hisa corrected him. Saki and Nodoka looked at one another in the eyes and cheerfully smiled. Yuuki, on the other hand, was still worried. She dashed from behind Nodoka and ran to where Hisa and the rest were looking really upset and teary eyed.

"What are you guys so happy for?" Yuuki asked, "If those things are gone, it could mean they're getting reinforcements!"

"Yuuki, listen to me," Hisa said as she knelt down in front of Yuuki, placing her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, "Those things don't look intelligent enough to call for back up. If it makes you feel any better, we'll reinforce the barricades if those things try to break in again."

"Are you sure we'll be safe here?" Yuuki asked, "I mean, those things already know we're in here. I'm scared they will-"

"Yuuki, we can't go outside either." Hisa said in a comforting tone, looking at the younger girl in the eyes, "There's too many of them out there. We can't escape if the town is crawling with hundreds of those things. If we don't make too much noise, they won't know we're here."

"But they already know we're here…" Yuuki said, "I'm scared… I wanna go home… I don't wanna lose mom and dad…"

Tears rolled down Yuuki's cheeks as she started to cry. Hisa sighed deeply, embracing her tightly and gently patting her back. She was as worried for her family as Yuuki was, although at times like this, the worst was to be expected but she did not have the heart to bring it up to Yuuki. Hisa turned her head to face Yuuichi.

"Yuuichi-kun. Does your MP3 player have a radio?" Hisa asked.

"Yes." Yuuichi replied.

"Does your MP3 player have a built-in loudspeaker?" Hisa asked.

"Yes." Yuuichi replied.

"Tune to any radio station, they might know something." Hisa said.

"Alright." Yuuichi replied.

Yuuichi pulled out his MP3 player, detached his headphones from the player and turned on the loudspeaker. He started tuning for a radio station he could get within his frequency. He began walking back and forth as he continued tuning. Yuuichi walked to the Mahjong table and sat down on the chair, with the others standing around him, all wanting to know what was happening out there. All radio stations seemed to be static, much to his frustration, until he finally found one.

"Got it!" Yuuichi said.

"Great!" Hisa smiled.

_"…to those of you just tuning in, a state of national emergency had just been declared by the Emperor moments ago. All civilians are advised to stay in their homes and lock their doors. We repeat. All civilians are advised to stay in their homes and lock their doors. This is not a drill. We repeat. This is not a drill. All civilians are instructed to remain in their homes until further announcements are made. All civilians are advised not to venture outside their homes regardless of any reason, until the nature of the crisis had been determined, and until we can advise what course of action to take._

_Keep listening to the radio and television for special instructions as this crisis develop further. The safest course of action at this time is to simply stay where you are. Reports of violence and mass murder are coming in from the Kanto, Chubu and Kansai regions of this nation. Because of this crisis that is currently developing, this radio station and hundreds of other radio and TV stations throughout this part of the country will remain on the air day and night. At this hour, these are the facts as we know them; there is an epidemic of mass murder-"_

"Mass murders? In three regions?" Hisa muttered.

_"-being committed by an army of unidentified killers. The murders are taking place in villages and cities, in rural homes and suburbs with no apparent pattern nor reason for the killings. It seems to be a sudden epidemic of mass homicide. We were given description of the murderers; eyewitness accounts described the killers as ordinary-looking people, misshapen monsters, people who look like they're in a trance and creatures that look like people but behave like animals. At this time, there is really no authentic way for us to say who or what to look for and guard yourself against._

_Reaction of law enforcement officials is one of complete bewilderment at this hour. Police stations and emergency ambulances are literally deluded with calls for help. The scene can be best described as mayhem. The mayors of Saitama, Shizuoka and Nara, along with the governments of several Kanto, Chubu and Kansai prefectures indicated that the National Police Agency may be mobilized at any moment, but that has not happened as yet. Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word that the Emperor has called a meeting of his cabinet-"_

"This... is more serious that I thought..." Hisa said.

"My God, it's happening all over Japan." Mako said.

"We're supposed to stay here till further notice?" Yuuichi asked.

"That's what the Government instructed us..." Kyoutarou replied.

_"-to deal with the sudden epidemic of murder that has seized at least a third of this nation. The meeting had been scheduled to commence within the hour. The Imperial Household Agency will be joined by the Cabinet Intelligence and Investigation Office, along with military advisers. This just in, ladies and gentlemen, the mayor of Kyoto had just described this horrific event as Japan's worst crisis since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings to the press; with the death toll estimated upwards twenty thousand at this hour-"_

As they kept listening to the radio, everyone was frightened and worried. What was happening in town was actually happening in various parts of the country, a nationwide phenomenon, leaving more than 20,000 dead and still counting. After learning what happened to Yuuichi's family, the others became worried for the safety of their family members and friends. The catastrophe started just several hours ago and a lot of people have already been killed. Saki thought of her father, who she last saw when she left home for school. She also thought of her mother and sister. Where could they be at the point of time? Will the national tournaments take place should this continue up to the following week? Will she ever reunite with her sister? The questions kept coming and coming…

**~~~0~~~0~~~0~~~**

Meanwhile, in town and on the road in front of the old school building, those marauding creatures continued shambling up and down the streets. Creatures of different shapes and sizes, tall and short, fat and thin, young and old, moaning as they lurch around aimlessly, looking to quench the hunger that could never be satisfied. A well-dressed creature in business suit was standing next to a black Mercedes Benz, trying to insert the car keys it was holding into the keyhole of the door on the driver's seat. It kept failing however, and ended up scratching the car instead.

Another Ghoul, a tall, flat-chested cheerleader with blond twin tails was in a phone booth. It was holding up the phone handle and staring blankly into it, not knowing what to do with it. Another creature, an elderly woman, shuffled slowly on the side walk, pulling on a leash tied to a dead Maltese dog. A trail of thick, crimson liquid followed as the carcass got dragged along.

A large creature in mailman uniform walked around with a large bag strapped across its broad shoulders. It shuffled over to a mail box and slowly stuffed its hand into the bag and grabbed a handful of envelopes. It stuffed the envelopes into the slot but only two of the eight he held in his large hand went in while the others fell onto the sidewalk. Five creatures were hungrily gorging down on the mangled remains of a man. The clock tower which stood in front of the main entrance of a newly-built mall, now crawling with dozens of Ghouls, rung as it struck 10:00PM.

_DONG… DONG… DONG… DONG…_

**~~~0~~~0~~~0~~~**

Hisa slowly walked to the balcony of the club house and rested her arms on the railing. She looked up at the night sky, sighing deeply. With all that was happening in various parts of the country, what was going to become of the national tournaments, which was suppose to take place on Monday? Hisa was not only worried about the national tournaments but for her family and friends as well. She buried her face her arms. Then, she thought of someone who was really special to her.

Someone who she had played against during her middle school days. Someone who she had forgotten for three years - until they played against one another during the individual tournaments. Hisa immediately recognized that right eye, sapphire-like in color, which was very beautiful. Tightening her grip on the railing of the balcony, Hisa looked up at the cloudy night sky. It would have been a beautiful night, if not for all the carnage that was happening throughout the country.

"Mihoko..." Hisa said softly.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** In Romero's films, the "zombies" have little memory of their previous lives. This explains some of the "zombies" in this story doing some of the things they do when they were alive.

Pairings in this story? Saki X Nodoka, Hisa X Mihoko, Touka X Hajime, Yumi X Momoko, among others. Again, feel free to share your opinions on my story and how I can improve on my story! Read & review!


	5. Chapter 4

**~ CHAPTER 4 ~**

(The Mahjong Club - Part III)

"_The Emperor has advised all civilians to stay in their homes and lock their doors. Office and factory workers, on the other hand, are advised to stay at their places of employment. However, in spite of this urging and warning, streets and highways are packed with frantic people trying to reach their families, or apparently, to flee just anywhere. The safest course of action at this time is to simply stay where you are._

_Military personal and law enforcement agencies have been working hard in an attempt to gain control of this situation, but for the most part, their efforts have been marginally futile up to this particular time._

_Ladies and gentlemen, this just in, civil defense authorities in Kanagawa have told newsmen… uh… I'm having trouble reading this bulletin. Ladies and gentlemen, as unbelievable as this may seem, consistent reports from witnesses to the effect that people who acted as if they were in a trance were killing… and eating… their victims prompted authorities to examine the bodies of some of the victims…_

_Medical authorities in Kanagawa have concluded that in all cases, the killers are eating the flesh of the people they murdered. Repeating, this latest bulletin we received moments ago from Kanagawa, civil defense authorities have told newsmen that murdered victims have shown evidence of having been partially devoured by their murderers. Medical examinations of victims' bodies show conclusively that the killers are eating the flesh of the people they killed. And so this incredible story becomes more disturbing with each report. It's hard to imagine such a thing actually happening, but these are the reports we have been receiving, __reports which have been verified as completely as is possible in this confusing situation."_

"President?" Mako said, placing her right hand onto Hisa's left shoulder "Is anything wrong?"

"I'm worried," Hisa said, turning her head to face Mako, "Family, friends, the nationals."

"I'm as worried as you are," Mako sighed, "I tried calling home… but no one picked up."

Releasing her grip from Hisa's shoulder, Mako moved herself to Hisa's right. She rested her arms on the railing of the balcony and looked up at the night sky. It was cloudy night, the crescent moon shining brightly behind the clouds and the cool breeze gently blowing into their hair. Mako turned to look at Hisa, who was quiet and in deep thought, but would rather not speak what was on her mind. Hisa pulled herself away from the railing. Turning around, she walked back into the club house and Mako walked in after her.

Yuuichi was still sitting at the mahjong table listening to the news on his MP3 player. Yuuki was huddled on tightly to Nodoka, face buried in her bosoms and the latter had Etopen tucked under her left arm. Saki was pacing around restlessly with Nodoka's cell phone in her right hand, desperately trying to call home. Kyoutarou was fixing tea for everyone in the club house. After pouring tea into seven cups and placing them on a tray, Kyoutaro carried it over to the Mahjong table then placed it on one of the two racks there.

"Thanks." Yuuichi said kindly, reaching out for a cup of tea.

"No problem, you must be thirsty anyway." Kyoutarou said.

"Tastes good." Yuuichi said, after taking a sip for his cup.

"Thanks." Kyoutarou smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Hisa sat down on an unoccupied chair near the Mahjong table, reached out for a cup of tea and took a sip. Mako sat down on a chair facing Yuuichi's direction and took a cup for herself. Kyoutarou placed his cup on the table, sat himself down facing Hisa and pulled out his cell phone in attempt to call home. It was getting hot inside the club house. Nodoka removed the ribbons from her head, untying her pink hair.

"Aww, come on…" Saki mumbled, sounding very worried.

"Forget it, it's useless…" Yuuichi said, "We've all tried…"

"Yuuichi-kun's right, Saki…" Mako sighed, "It's no use…"

"Dad… I hope you're alright…" Saki mumbled to herself.

Hisa noticed that Saki was about to cry. She was just as worried as Saki was this was the time where their survival is the top priority. Hisa did not want to see any of her friends let their emotions get the better of them, which would affect their team effort and will to survive. She understood the fear of losing loved ones completely, however, their lives are at stake here. Hisa felt that it was time to be firm with everyone.

"Look, I really hate to say this…" Hisa said, standing up, "But at this point of time, we HAVE to expect the worst. Right now, our main priority is our survival. We gotta be strong. We gotta stay strong. We gotta start cooperating. As long as we stick and work together as a team, then we'll have a much higher chance of survival. Do I make myself clear?" She folded her arms, looking at everyone who was in the club house

Everyone looked at her, then at one another for a moment before nodding in agreement. Saki remained quiet for a while then finally nodded. Yuuki looked up from Nodoka's bosoms, and then nodded weakly. Reassured, Hisa smiled back at the others before sitting down on her chair and taking a sip from her cup.

_"For those of you just tuning in, we will be on air for the remainder of this crisis. The situation at this hour does not look hopeful. Whatever is going on is not a local phenomenon. Similar cases have been reported from the eastern to midwestern states of the U.S. and the northwestern regions of Europe as well. Clearly this is a very dark time, a very confusing time. It is unclear how or why this is happening…"_

"Wait…" Hisa said, "Did he just say that this is happening in the United States too?"

"Seriously…" Mako said, "What the hell is going on? It's happening in Europe too..."

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been told that we are going live to news correspondent, Shizuka Takahashi, who is on site at the National Diet Building. Hello Miss Takahashi, can you tell us what's going on there? Hello? Miss Takahashi? Well, it looks like we are having some technical difficulties getting in touch with Miss Takahashi; we will try again momentarily... this is definitely a very disturbing news and-"_

"Geez, this is fucked up…" Yuuichi muttered, "It was a completely normal day then suddenly people are turning into crazed cannibals and now you're telling me it's happening worldwide?"

"Maybe Mako was right…" Kyoutarou suggested, "Maybe it was a pandemic that caused this after all. She did say that normal people don't just go around attacking and killing each other…"

"I still think this is something that should only happen in horror movies and video games…" Yuuki mumbled quietly while still huddling tightly to Nodoka, the latter patting her head.

"In any case, we should figure out what those things are and how we should fight against them…" Mako said, "From what Yuuichi-kun told us earlier, physical blows don't seem to have any effect."

"Pretty much…" Yuuichi nodded, "The first one I encountered didn't seem bothered by his missing arm at all, and the fact that its head still moved even after I knocked it off its shoulders still bothers me. When another one attacked me, I tried slowing it down by hitting its pressure points but did not phase it one bit. It was only when I smashed its skull in then it got put down. I tried doing the same to big brother, or what used to be him anyway, and it worked. So I guess that by only damaging their brain we could kill them…"

"Kinda like vampires…" Saki said, "A vampire can only be killed by driving a stake through its heart. But in this case, those things can only be killed by any form of damage to their brain…"

"Not to mention that those things are really slow..." Yuuichi added, "In fact, we don't have to run away from them. We can just walk away from them. Individually, they are very strong but because they are slow, they can be outmaneuvered very easily. I was able to handle one easily, but we can't be sure of that if we're being surrounded by five, ten or twenty of those things. That could be a real problem. And there has got to be hundreds of them in town right now. We can't escape even if we try to and work together..."

"We're advised not to do that right now," Hisa said, "The radio tells us that we can only stay where we are until the Government tells us what precautions to take. It's not safe out there…"

**~~~0~~~0~~~0~~~**

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the stairway leading up to the old school building where the Mahjong club was, a tall and slender creature, which used to be a third year high school delinquent, shuffled slowly along the road where dozens of other creatures where shambling around aimlessly. An old butcher was shuffling along, dragging its feet and holding a meat cleaver in its right hand. Its vacant eyes were staring ahead blankly and a deep moan escaping from its gaping mouth.

Another creature, a male youth dressed in full red and white track suit, tripped over a rock and fell down to the ground. As the Ghoul slowly sat up, it spotted a shiny object lying on the ground, a coin. The creature slowly reached out its hand to pick it up and stared at it, mesmerized. In town, the creatures continued shuffling up and down the streets.

A middle-aged woman was pushing an empty shopping cart inside the newly built mall, now crawling with dozens of creatures. A young girl shambled between the aisles of a doll shop holding a baby doll in her right arm. Several Ghouls were shambling around in the indoor ice-skating rink within the mall. A few of them kept slipping and falling due to the floor being slippery. The mall music was still playing; a haunting tune that was drowned only by the moaning of the creatures.

**~~~0~~~0~~~0~~~**

Two hours had passed since they boarded themselves up inside the club house. Yuuichi's MP3 player was still turned on but the radio station had no new announcement regarding the situation. Yuuki was fast asleep, resting her head on the table. Saki was sitting next to Yuuki, twiddling around with a Mahjong tile.

Kyoutarou was sitting to the right side of the doorway to the balcony, leaning his back against the wall while playing with his PSP to pass time. Yuuichi walked around the club house restlessly, hands in his pockets. Nodoka was at the balcony with Hisa and Mako. The big-bosomed girl yawned, rubbing an eye.

_DONG… DONG… DONG… DONG…_ the clock tower was heard ringing from the town mall as it struck the midnight hour.

"We need to get some sleep…" Mako said, stretching and yawning, she too getting tired.

"Well, someone better keep watch. In case those things try breaking in again." Hisa said.

"They can't get in here…" Mako said.

"But enough of them will…" Hisa said.

"Suga-kun and I will take turns keeping watch…" Yuuichi suggested, as he over walked to the balcony.

"Hmm…" Hisa thought, "That sounds like a good idea..."

"But don't you guys need some sleep too?" Mako asked.

"Like I said," Yuuichi replied, "We'll keep watch hourly. While I'm watching, Suga-kun will be sleeping."

"Yeah, you girls go ahead and sleep." Kyoutarou smiled. "We'll both keep watch over the club house."

"Thanks guys!" Hisa said cheerfully, "You're the best!"

"No problem!" Yuuichi winked, "You can count on us!"

**12:40AM**

All five girls were fast asleep, sharing the bed that was pushed against the bookshelf earlier that night. Kyoutarou rested his head on the Mahjong table, unable to sleep. Yuuichi was sitting next to Kyoutarou, playing his PSP, the soundtrack from the game was the cause of the other boy not being able to sleep.

"Man, what the hell are you playing?" Kyoutarou looked up at Yuuichi.

"Idolmaster." Yuuichi said, showing Kyoutarou what was on the screen. There was a girl with short, light brown hair on screen dancing, while singing catchy J-Pop style music, which made Kyoutarou perplexed.

"Idolmaster? What the hell is that?" Kyoutarou said, raising an eyebrow.

"You seriously never heard of Idolmaster?" Yuuichi said and paused the game, "Where have you been? Hiding under a fucking rock? How can you not have heard of it? It's a pretty popular game franchise here."

"Well… I guess I am! Hahahaha!" Kyoutarou said, laughing to himself. Yuuichi couldn't help laughing too.

"This is the SP series of the game though," Yuuichi said as he kept playing, "The one that I'm playing right now is the 'Wandering Star' version from the series. I have the Xbox 360 version and the DS version too."

"You must really like Idolmaster." Kyoutarou said, watching Yuuichi play.

"Dude, I'm a big fan of the franchise!" Yuuichi smiled as he kept playing.

"Also, is it just me or does that girl sound like Yuuki?" Kyoutarou asked.

"This girl?" Yuuichi showed Kyoutarou his PSP once again, this time showing a small girl with a prominent forehead on the screen, "Her name is Iori Minase and now that you mention it, they really do sound alike."

The both of them laughed together, and Hisa sat up on bed with her eyes half closed "Not so loud, guys."

"Sorry." The both of them apologized and Hisa went back to sleep as both boys remained quiet for awhile.

"So…" Yuuichi said quietly, setting his PSP down on the table, "You're playing for our school too?"

"Not really," Kyoutarou said, "I'm not as good as the rest of the members to begin with, hehehehe."

"So… you didn't compete in any of the team and individual tournaments then?" Yuuichi asked.

"I did compete for the boys' individual tournament but got snuffed quickly." Kyoutarou replied.

"That sucks, but still it's surprising to know that our school got into the nationals." Yuuichi said.

"Yeah, we were a no-name school prior to the Nagano Prefecture qualifications." Kyoutarou said, as he stood up, walked over to the cabinet where they kept tea sachets and took out a packet of rice crackers.

"But Haramura-san's pretty well-known isn't she? Even before the qualifications?" Yuuichi asked.

"Yeah, that's because was last year's National Middle School Individual Champion…" Kyoutarou replied, as he walked back to the table and handed a small packet holding three rice crackers inside to Yuuichi.

"That's what I heard too, besides with a figure like that, she'd be very popular too." Yuuichi said, taking the packet Kyoutarou handed to him. He tore the packet open then took out a rice cracker and bit into it.

"You got that right!" Kyoutarou said, laughing quietly, "So, you've been following them on TV?"

"Not so much to be honest," Yuuichi said, "I'm not really into Mahjong but the reason why I followed is because they're representing our school and Someya-san is competing too. Wanted to see how she did."

"Speaking of Someya-san, it seems you're pretty close to her… close friends?" Kyoutarou said.

"Yep," Yuuichi nodded, "We're classmates and we've known each other since Middle School…"

"Just like Saki and myself," Kyoutarou said, "We've been classmates since Middle School too."

"Miyanaga-san, is it?" Yuuichi said, "Her skills were pretty BEAST from what I've seen on TV…"

"Well, I totally agree…" Kyoutarou said, "Prez saw a lot of potential in her when she first came."

"And thanks to her our school got into the nationals... then all this had to happen." Yuuichi said.

"Yeah…" Kyoutarou sighed, looking down at the Mahjong table remembering the happier times he and his friends went though prior to the crisis. He turned and looked at the girls sleeping, smiling a little to himself…

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So, will our heroes make it through the night? Will they come up with a plan to escape from the zombie-infested town in the morning? Find out in the next chapter!

As you can see I put in a little "seiyuu joke" into this chapter when Kyou mentioned Iori Minase from Idolmaster sounds like Yuuki. Both characters were voiced by Rie Kugimiya! XD

In Night of the Living Dead, the news report in the film depicts that the epidemic first happened in the eastern and midwestern United States. In Diary of the Dead, which happens at the same time as Night of the Living Dead and this story, it was shown that the epidemic also happened in Japan and the United Kingdom as well. Again, feel free to share your opinions on how I can improve on my story. Read and review!


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